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Abraham Lincoln's Visit to 
Evanston in 1860 



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By 

J. Seymour Currey 

President of the Evanston Historical Societv 



' EVANSTON 

City National Bank 
1914 




Courtesy ot the Illinois State Historical Societij 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
P>om a photograph taken in New York by Brady, at the time of the speech at 

Author 

w.dtf. .r, tail 



Cooper In^tute. in 1860. 



^brafjam Ulncoln's Viiit to Cbanston 
in I860 

The purpose of this sketch is to describe the visit made by Abraham 
Lincoln to Evanston in I860, including such particulars as appear to 
be worthy of permanent record. This visit, brief as it was, forms one 
of the most cherished episodes of our history. 

Many of the particulars have been obtained from those who w^ere 
living in Evanston at the time, and who were present at the informal 
reception given to Mr. Lincoln on the evening of his one night's stay 
in our town. Some of these recollections have already appeared in print 
at different times, but with additions derived from recent interviews 
and correspondence with those who were participants in the events re- 
ferred to, are here brought together and formed into a connected 
account. 

In order to provide a proper perspective and background to the in- 
cidents related in this account, it seems desirable to describe briefly the 
state of the country at the period in which they occurred and of Mr. 
Lincoln's connection with the events of that time, as well as some ac- 
count of Evanston as it was in the year mentioned. 

Stirring Events of the Time 

During the early months of I860, the Republican party, which some 
three years before had suffered defeat in its first presidential campaign 
under the leadership of John C. Fremont, was anxiously considering 
who should be selected as the standard bearer in the approaching cam- 
paign. It was generally thought that the convention to be held in the 
following May would name William H. Seward as the candidate. The 
famous Lincoln and Douglas debates had taken place in the summer and 
fall of 1858, and had given a national reputation to Lincoln, whose fame 
had heretofore been confined to his own state. The speech he made at 
Cooper Institute in New York, February 27, 1860, had caused his name 
to be frequently mentioned as a possible presidential candidate. Under 
Buchanan's weak and vacillating administration the arrogance and hos- 
tility of the southern states had become more pronounced, and the peo- 
ple of the north found in Mr. Lincoln's clear cut statements the best 
expression of the burning issues of the day. 

The "Sand Bar" Case 

It was soon after Mr. Lincoln's return from the East that he spent 
a week or more in Chicago in attendance upon the United States Dis- 
trict Court as one of the counsel for the defendants in the "Sand Bar" 
case, referred to in the papers of the time as "one of the most notable 

Page Three 



trials in the annals of our courts."* It was just after the conclusion of 
this case that Mr. Lincoln made his visit to Evanston. 

A few days previously he had accepted an invitation to address the 
citizens of Waukegan on political topics, upon which the Chicago Fress 
and Tribune, one of his staunch friends and supporters remarked: 
"The announcement will of course bring together one of the largest 
crowds that Waukegan can furnish." 

Evanston Assuming Importance 
At that time Evanston was a village of some twelve hundred inhab- 
itants and was developing a boom as a suburb of Chicago. An article 
in the paper just referred to, which appeared about this time, spoke o 
Evanston as having the handsomest residences and the best situation of 
anv town in the vicinity of Chicago, and the writer predicted that be- 
tween the two places would be built up a continuous line of stores and 
residences The Chicago and Milwaukee railroad, afterwards known 
as the Chicago and Northwestern railway, had been open for six years. 
There was only a single track and trains passed each other at sidings 
located at different stations on the line. Leaving the terminal station 
at he corner of Kinzie and Canal sterets, in Chicago the stations were : 
CI bourn Junction, Belle Plaine (Cuyler), Chittenden (Rosehill) and 
Calvary Ravenswood and Rogers Park had no existence at ha time. 
The village of Bowmanville lay a mile west of Rosehill. AH of_ these 
places except Bowmanville had come into existence with the opening of 
the railroad, and Evanston itself had borne that name only some six 
years, though under older names it could claim a greater antiquity. 

Becomes a Seat of Learning 
The Northwestern University had been established in Evanston in 
the same year that the railroad was opened, namely, m 1854, though it. 
f.rst building had not been completed until the following year Fhe 
University from the beginning had given the dominant tone to the com- 
munity life of the place, and many of those who had more recently 
ade their homes there had been attracted by its influence. These 
with the families of the sturdy pioneers, who had opened the country 
to settlement in the previous generation, formed a popula ion of a high 
degree of force and vigor which has ever since been distinguished fo 
its wide influence and the high character of its people. Besides th one 
building completed and occupied by the University, situated at the 
n rawest corner of Davis Street and Hinman Avenue, the Garret 
Biblical Institute (affiliated with the University) ^ad likewise o^ 
building, afterwards known as Dempster Hall, completed in the same 
year that the University's fust building was opened. 

^I^ore complete account of this celebrated case can be found in "Chicago : 
Its History and Its Builders," Vol. II, p. 73- 

Page Four 



THE DATE OF MR. LINCOLN'S VISIT 

In determining the date on which Mr. Lincoln visited Evanston, I 
have fixed it as Thursday, April 5, I860. In an article published in \\\it 
Century Magazine for December, 1881, by Leonard W. Volk (to be 
referred to presently), the author says that Mr. Lincoln went to Evans- 
ton on "Thursday." He says in another place that the visit was made 
"in the early part of April." There is no conclusive evidence on this 
point to be obtained either from Voile's article, or from any of those 
whose recollections we shall hereafter refer to. 

According to the date on the title page of the Chicago Press and 
Tribune the first Thursday in that month was on the 5th. If the visit 
had been made a week later, that is, on the 12th, it would still have 
been possible, perhaps, to speak of it as having taken place "in the early 
part of April." It seems impossible, however, to place the date of the 
visit on the 12th, because in the issue of the Chicago Press and Tribune 
of the 13th, of that month, a paragraph is quoted from a Bloomington 
paper stating that Mr. Lincoln was in that city. It seems safe, there- 
fore, to set the date of the visit as we have given it, namely, Thursday, 
April 5th, 1860. 

The House in which He Spent the Night 

Mr. Lincoln visited Evanston upon the invitation and as the guest 
of his old friend, Julius White, who afterwards became a general in the 
Union Army. Mr. White at that time was a member of the Chicago 
Board of Trade and was harbor master. He lived in Evanston in a 
house situated at the northwest corner of Ridge Avenue and Church 
Street, on the lot where Mr. Richard C. Lake's house now stands. It 
was in this house that Mr. Lincoln spent the night on the occasion of his 
visit. 

The house was built by Alexander McDaniel and by him sold to 
Rev. Philo Judson, who enlarged it and occupied it for a time. It 
was a two-story house with a horizontal cornice, the roof sloping up- 
wards from four sides to a short ridge at the top. The front door was 
in the middle of the east side of the house with rooms on each side of 
the hallway. There was no covered porch, simply a platform with 
steps descending from the front door. 

About the year 1884 this house was moved away by Mr. Robert 
Hill when he erected his residence on the present site which in later 
years has become the home of Mr. Lake. When the house was moved 
it was separated into two parts, the larger part being taken to the lot 
now known as 1227 Elmwood Avenue, adjoining the High School on 
the south, and remodeled into a comfortable residence, and is now 
occupied by Mr. Albert D. Sanders. It does not, however, at all re- 
semble the house in its original form. A much smaller part of the 
original house was moved to another location. 

Page Five 











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Page Six 



When Mr. Julius White (afterwards General) first came to Evans- 
ton to live, in February, 1859, he took possession of the house just de- 
scribed ; but after he had joined the army, more than a year subsequent 
to the events here referred to, he moved his family into a smaller house, 
a story and a half cottage on the southeast corner of Asbury Avenue 
and Church Street, fronting on the latter street. 

In later years the story and a half house referred to was moved to 
a location in the western part of the town, now known as 2319 Prairie 
Avenue. From the fact that General White once lived in the house 
arose a tradition that this was the house in which Mr. Lincoln passed 
the night, and later occupants have taken pride in relating this story, 
for which there is no other foundation than that above mentioned. 

Other Houses Claim the Honor 

It IS remarkable how many houses we have here in Evanston which 
lay claim to the honor of sheltering Mr. Lincoln during the night that 
he spent in Evanston. We have shown that the house on Prairie Ave- 
nue was not the one, though often claimed as such. 

Another house which it is claimed was the one in which Mr. Lincoln 
was entertained is the cottage at 1513 Greenwood Boulevard, now 
occupied by Daniel Devine and his family. Mrs. Devine stated in an 
interview with the writer that at the time Mr. Lincoln visited Evans- 
ton this house stood a short distance east of its present location, on the 
southeast corner of Greenwood Boulevard and Asbury Avenue. She 
says that no members of the family who then occupied the house are 
now living in Evanston, and that a number of tenants — a dozen or 
more — have occupied the house during the fifty years since the visit of 
Mr. Lincoln.' She even points out the living room in her house as the 
room in which Mr. Lincoln received the guests. Before her marriage 
tc Mr. Devine, Mrs. Devine was a widow, Mrs. English by name, and 
formerly helped in housekeeping duties at Dempster Hall, when Mr. 
Langworthy kept a boarding house for students there. She could not 
recall General White or any member of his family, and could not re- 
member having heard his name. 

A house known as the old Carroll house, formerlv at 1465 Elmwood 
Avenue, was demolished by the city authorities in August, 1909. It 
was supposed by some that this house was the one in which Mr. Lincoln 
was entertained. 

Still another house, the one situated at 1028 Judson Avenue, is 
thought by some to be the house in which Mr. Lincoln was entertained. 
As is well known, this house was occupied by General White after the 
^var, when it stood at the northwest corner of Davis Street and Chicago 
Avenue, and by him moved to its present location and practically re- 
built. The fact that the house was once the residence of General White 
has given currency to this belief, and it is often pointed out by residents 



I'ai'i' SeTcn 



ill the neighboihood as having an historical interest for the reason that 
Mr. Lincoln was once a guest under its roof. 

The honor, however, must be denied to all those mentioned above, 
except the house on the northwest corner of Ridge Avenue and Church 
Street, as described in the previous paragraph. 

One way, perhaps, to account for these various claims would be to 
suppose that Mr. Lincoln visited Evanston more than once; it can be 
positively stated, however, that the distinguished visitor never stayed 
but one night in Evanston. It is well known that traditions, such as 
those referred to, grow from small beginnings, originating with half 
remembered events often repeated in conversation, and at length have 
taken on the character of positive statements. 

Mr. Volk's Recollections 

A reference to Mr. Lincoln's visit to Evanston is found in an article 
published in the Century Magazine for December, 1881, by Leonard 
W. Volk, the sculptor. Mr. Volk had met Mr. Lincoln during the 
period of the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858, and had requested him 
to sit for a bust. Mr. Lincoln said that he would be glad to do so at 
the first opportunity. 

Mr. Volk, in the course of his article, thus relates: 

"I did not see him again for nearly two years. 1 spent most of the 
winter of 1860 in Washington, finishing a statuette of Senator Douglas, 
and just before leaving in the month of March, I called upon Mr. 
Douglas' colleague in the senate from Illinois [Hon. Lyman Trumbull], 
and asked him if he had an idea as to who would be the probable nominee 
of the Republican partv for president, that I might model a bust of him 
in advance. He replied that he did not have the least particle of an idea 
who he would be, only that it would not be Judge Douglas. 

"I returned to Chicago, and got my studio in the 'Portland block' 
in order and ready for work, and began to consider whose bust I should 
first begin in the clay, when I noticed in a morning paper that Abraham 
Lincoln was in town— retained as one of the counsel in the 'Sand Bar' 
trial. I at once decided to remind him of his promise to sit to me, made 
two years before. I found him in the United States District court 
room' (in a building known at the time as the 'Larmon block'), his feet 
on the edge of a table, and his long, dark hair standing out at every 
imaginable angle. He was surrounded by a group of lawyers, such as 
James F. Joy, Isaac N. Arnold, Thomas Hoyne and others. Mr. 
Arnold obtained his attention in my behalf, when he instantly arose and 
met me outside the rail, recognizing me at once with his usual grip of 
both hands. He remembered his promise, and said, in answer to my 
question, that he expected to be detained by the case for a week. He 

added: , 

" 'I shall be glad to give you' the sittings. When shall I come, and 

how long will you need me each time ?' 
Page Eight 



" 'Just after breakfast, every morning, would,' he said, 'suit him the 
best, and he could remain till court opened, at 10 o'clock.' I answered 
that I would be ready for him the next morning, Thursday. This was 
in the early part of April, 1860. 

" 'Very well, Mr. Volk, I will be there, and I'll go to a barber and 
have my hair cut before I come.' 

"I requested him not to let the barber cut it too short and said I 
would rather he would leave it as it was; but to this he would not con- 
sent. Then, all of a sudden, he ran his fingers through his hair, and 
said : 

Wanted to Be Released 

" 'No, I cannot come tomorrow, as I have an engagement with Mr. 

W to go to Evanston tomorrow and attend an entertainment ; but 

I'd rather come, and sit to you for the bust than go there and meet a 
lot of college professors and others, all strangers to me. And I will be 

obliged if you will go to Mr. W 's office now, and get me released 

from the engagement. I will wait here till you come back.' 

"So off I posted, but Mr. W would not release him, 'because,' 

he said, 'it would be a great disappointment to the people he had in- 
vited.' ' Mr. Lincoln looked quite sorry when I reported to him the 
failure of my mission. . 

"^Well,' he said, 'I suppose I must go, but I will come to you Fri- 
day morning.' ' -at 

"He was there promptly — indeed, he never failed to be on time. My 
studio was in the fifth story, and there were no elevators in those days, 
and I soon learned to distinguish his steps on the stairs, and am sure he 
frequentlv came up two, if not three, steps at a stride. When he sat 
down the first time in that hard, wooden, low-armed chair which I still 
possess, and which has been occupied by Douglas, Seward and Generals 
Grant and Dix, he said: . 

" 'Mr. Volk, I have never sat before to sculptor or painter— only 
for daguerreotvpes and photographs. What shall I do?' 

"I told him I would onlv take the measurements of his head and 
shoulders that time, and next morning, Saturday, I would make a cast 
of his face, which would save him a number of sittings. He stood up 
against the wall, and I made a mark above his head, and then measured 
up to it from the floor, and said : i u • • 

" 'You are just twelve inches taller than Judge Douglas, that is, mst 
six feet one inch.' " ^ • u 

In the above extract, which is printed just as it appeared in the 
Century article, the name of Mr. White is indicated by the initial W 
followed bv a blank line. i , i • i 

Also it is to be noted that in the last sentence Mr. Lincoln s height 
is given as six feet one inch, whereas the fact was that he was six feet 
four inches in height. This M-as an error either on the part of the 
author or printer. 

Fajarg Nine 




HARVEY B. HURD 

Born February 14, 1828: died January 20, 1906. 
He was a resident of Evanston for tifty-two years. 



Mr. Hurd's Description 

When the day arrived for Mr. Lincoln to go to Evanston he was 
taken in charge by Mr. Harvey B. Hurd, who had been designated to 
act as his escort. Mr. Hurd has left on record an account of this jour- 
ney, which is as follows : 

"On his return from his stumping tour through New England in 
the spring of 1860, bringing back with him the fame of his great Cooper 
Institute speech, he [Mr. Lincoln] was given a reception in Evanston, 
at the home of my then next door neighbor, General Julius White, and 
it was my good fortune to be designated to escort him from Chicago to 
his house. On the way Mr. Lincoln and I occupied the same seat in 
the railway car, that next to the stove. Putting his long legs up behind 
the stove and Icaiu'ng down toward me, he related to me some of the 

Paa^e Ten 



more amusing episodes in his New England tour, such as he thought 1 
would recognize as characteristic of Yankeedom ( I had told him 1 was 
a native of Connecticut), some of them bringing out in strong light the 
issues of the campaign and how he had presented them. 

"Calling to mind his great debate with Mr. Douglas and how he 
had grown in popularity all over the country, and that he was being 
talked of for the presidency, I could not help a passing analysis of his 
characteristics. The way he impressed me at that time was well summed 
up by a countryman at another time. 'Not that he knew it all, and 
that i knew little or nothing, but that he and I were two good fellows, 
well met, and that between us we knew lots.' His bearing at the recep- 
tion, while easy, was at the same time dignified and pleasing. It re- 
quired no stretch of imagination to think of him as the coming president 
of the United States. He inspired in all a desire to see him nominated 
and elected to that high office. There was no lurking doubt as to his 
fitness." 

General Julius White 




From a photograph by Brady, Neiv York, taken 
in November, 1862. 

GENERAL JULIUS WHITE 

Born September 29, 1816; died May 12, 1890. 
He was a resident of Evanston thirty-one years. 



Gen. Julius White (as he 
soon afterwards became known) 
deserves some further mention 
in this place. Soon after Mr. 
Lincoln's inauguration in 1861 
he was appointed collector of 
the port of Chicago. White re- 
signed this office later in the 
year to raise a regiment, the 
Thirty-seventh Illinois Volun- 
teers, of which he became the 
colonel. The fact that he re- 
signed an office paying the sal- 
ary several times larger than 
the one he accepted in the army 
while having a large family to 
support was an act of true pat- 
riotism, and should be remem- 
bered to his credit. He was 
afterwards promoted to be a 
brigadier general and after the 
war received a commission of 
brevet major general. Four of 
the commissions received by 
General White at different 
times, two of them signed by 
Abraham Lincoln, are now in 
the possession of the Evanston 
Hi-^torical Societv. 



Pa^e Eleven 



Mr. Lincoln's Arrival 

Many of the old residents of Evanston still vividly remember, after 
a lapse of half a century, the occasion of Mr. Lincoln's visit here, and 
the accounts which are here gathered are mainly compiled from their 
recollections of that most interesting event. They are not all living 
whose testimony is here given, but the privilege they enjoyed of meeting 
and grasping the hand of the greatest American of the nineteenth cen- 
tury was a rare one and the occasion forms one of the most interesting 
episodes in our history. 

On Mr. Lincoln's arrival in Evanston he was taken for a carriage 
drive about the village by Mr. White and then to the residence of the 
latter. A general invitation had been extended to the people to come 
in the evening and shake hands with the distinguished visitor. It was 
easy to spread the news of anything of the kind in a small community 
such as Evanston was at that time, and the people were quick to re- 
spond to the invitation. The house was well filled with visitors and 
Mr. Lincoln stood in front of the fireplace in the drawing room and 
conversed with the people as they arrived. Many did not enter the 
house, but contented themselves with standing outside on the lawn and 
giving vent to their enthusiasm by blowing horns, singing and shout- 
ing, which was called "serenading" in the parlance of the time. These 
"doings" were naturally followed by calls for a speech, a request which 
the visitor complied with by appearing on the front steps of the house 
and addressing the people assembled on the lawn. "I have a sort of 
general recollection of his speech," relates Dr. Henry M. Bannister, 
who was present." "He spoke in a high, clear voice explaining his 
standpoint in politics and the reasons for it, making a special point that 
he had been guided by his sense of right." There was a general hand- 
shaking and exchange of greetings usual on such occasions. Afterwards 
a number of those outside went into the house and were presented to 
the visitor. 

Did Not Speak in Church 

It is frequently stated that Mr. Lincoln made a speech in the old 
Methodist church which at that time stood on the lot where the Evans- 
ton Public Library now stands ; but this is not so. Mr. Lincoln made 
no speech there. None of those whose evidence has been given regard- 
ing his visit mentions his having done so, and it was vigorously denied 
by the late Mr. Frederick D. Raymond, who was an indefatigable in- 
vestigator in the field of local history. A picture of the old Methodist 
church was printed in one of the papers some years ago with the state- 
ment that here Mr. Lincoln made a speech when he visited Evanston, 
which seemed to give authority for the belief entertained by many per- 
sons, but it may be positively stated that no speech was made by Mr. 
Lincoln in the church. 

Pai^e Tweh'e 



In an interview with William Carney in 1901, Mr. F. D. Ray- 
mond asked him about his recollections of the Lincoln visit to Evanston, 
which he said he remembered, and that Mr. Lincoln made a speech 
from the front steps of General White's house. Mr. H. E. Lombard, 
now living in Kansas, was a resident of Evanston at that time, and. 
writing in regard to Lincoln's visit, says: "A number of us serenaded 
liim and he made us a talk from the porch." 

"I remember as though it was but yesterday," wrote Mr. Martin 
Mohler, a former student at the university, in an article printed in The 
Evanston Index in 1903, "the tall, lanky form of Lincoln and his ex- 
pressive countenance as he stood shaking hands with admiring friends, 
Avhile a stream of wit and humor, and story and laughter, came bubbling 
up from the great soul within." 

Mrs. Bannister's Account 

Mrs. Emma White Bannister, a daughter of General White, wrote 
recently giving an account of the visit, which she remembers distinctly. 
"Father told us one day that he would bring Mr. Lincoln up to spend 
the night, adding, 'he may be our next president.' He arrived on the 
fvening train and dined with us, after which he addressed the Evans- 
tonians from the front porch. Word had been sent to the leading citi- 
zens that Mr. Lincoln would speak and they soon assembled in goodly 
numbers in front of the house. At the conclusion of his address my 
father invited all who desired to come in and meet Mr. Lincoln. They 
surged into the house, were introduced by father, and all received a 
cordial greeting and handshake from Mr. Lincoln. My father's house 
at that time was full of children, and during Mr. Lincoln's visit he 
endeared himself to us all by his individual and kindly notice." 

Mr. Pearsons' Story 

Mr. Henry A. Pearsons' memories of the occasion are extremely 
interesting. At a banquet of the Men's Club at the First Methodist 
church in February, 1906, he spoke as follows: 

"Mr. Lincoln came to Evanston in 1860, soon after he began to 
acquire a national reputation and had been mentioned as the man whom 
Illinois would bring out as a candidate for president. Evanston was 
then only a village of some 1,200 inhabitants, and, of course, all who 
could get there went to the house of Julius White to meet the distin- 
guished guest, we boys to cheer and make a welcoming noise and our 
elders to shake his hand. I have a photograph of him taken in 1838, 
which pictures him as I remember him. The characteristics which I 
remember most distinctly were the pleasant smile and kindly greeting 
he gave us, the cheerful speech and apt words of his address, the ex- 
ceeding tallness of the man, and the awkward way he had of turning 
himself one way or the other and bending his knees a little when em- 

Pai/e Thirlec)) 



phasizing a point or coming to a climax. A really good quartet, led 
by our long-time friend and fellow citizen, Charles G. Ayars, called 
for Lincoln's special commendation; and I recall how he put his arms 
around Ayars' shoulders, and said: 'Young man, I wish I could sing 
as well as you. Unfortunately I know only two tunes, one is "Old 
Hundred," and the other isn't.' Mr. J. Watson Ludlam (recently de- 
ceased) was then, without doubt, the tallest citizen of Evanston, and 
Mr. Lincoln stood up against him, back to back, to see which was the 
taller." Mr. Pearsons on several occasions afterwards, while an officer 
of the Eighth Illinois cavalry, saw Mr. Lincoln at reviews, and was 
one of the guard of honor at the time his body lay in state in the 
Capitol at Washington. 

Mr. Ludlam's Story 

Only a short time before his death in the fall of 1908. Major 
James D. Ludlam wrote his recollections of the visit, in a letter to 
Mr. Frank R. Grover, to whom he had promised to furnish the details 
for the records of the Evanston Historical Society. "In redeeming my 
promise to you," he writes, "to furnish my recollections of Abraham 
Lincoln's visit to Evanston, I send the following, only reminding you 
that fifty years is a long time for one's memory to be exactly accurate." 
He said he received an invitation from Mr. Julius White, "who lived, I 
think, in the house built by Mr. Judson over on what we then called 
the ridge." He met there "some twenty or thirty friends," some of 
whom he mentions by name: Mr. and Mrs. John L. Beveridge, Rev. 
Philo Judson, Harvey B. Hurd, Mr. and Mrs. N. P. Iglehart, Mr. 
and Mrs. John A. Pearsons, Mrs. Appleton, Miss Mattie Stewart and 
Miss Isabel Stewart. "Mr. Hurd led the conversation principally with 
the help of Mr. Beveridge at the start, but soon Mr. Lincoln had full 
control, and in conversation and story telling captured the whole com- 
jjany. " 

Later in the evening some one proposed having some music, and 
Miss Isabel Stewart was invited to play the piano, which she did in a 
very delightful manner. Do not let the young readers of this sketch 
imagine the young lady seated at an "upright," for pianos of that form 
were not made in those days. Square pianos were in use and the one 
in Mr. White's house was probably of this pattern, the kind we used 
to call "megatheriums," which we used to behold with awe and ad- 
miration, including the player. 

Mr. Lincoln then asked for some vocal music and Mr. J. D. Lud- 
lam was invited to sing. 1 his he consented to do on condition that 
some one would play for him. He was then introduced to the young 
lady at the piano, whom he did not know before, and after a song or 
two the singing became general. It should be noted here that this in- 
troduction to the young lady. Miss Isabel Stewart, was more important 
in its results than seems at first sight, for in about a \ear after that 

J\ii'i' /■'onrlrfu 



the singer and the player were married. Thus the Lincoln visit has a 
peculiar interest as the starting point of a romance. 

Measured with Watson Ludlam 

James D. Ludlam and J. Watson Ludlam were brothers, both tall 
men, the latter the taller of the two ; and with them was John L. Bev- 
eridge who was over six feet in height. There was another tall man 
present by the name of Homer Curtice, a conductor on the Chicago 
and Milwaukee Railroad, the name by which the present Chicago and 
Northwestern Railway was then known. Poor Curtice was killed by 
the cars up near Kenosha some years later. 

Mr. Lincoln had the habit of taking notice of men of unusual 
stature, as is recalled by an incident occurring a few weeks later than 
the events of which we are here writing. It is related, in Holland's 
"Life of Lincoln," that when Judge William D. Kelley of Pennsyl- 
vania, himself a man nearly as tall as Mr. Lincoln, called on him at 
Springfield at the head of a committee to notify him of his nomination, 
Mr. Lincoln, after the introductions had taken place, inquired, "What 
is your height, Judge?" "Six feet, three," replied the Judge; "what 
is yours, Mr. Lincoln?" "Six feet, four," responded Mr. Lincoln. 
"Then, sir," said the Judge, "Pennsylvania bows to Illinois. My dear 
man," he continued, "for years my heart has been aching for a presi- 
dent that I could look up to, and I've found him at last, — in the land 
that we thought there were none but Little Giants." 

It was not strange that Mr. Lincoln, having this habit of observa- 
tion, should notice the presence of so many unusually tall men, includ- 
ing himself, in the rooms of Mr. White's house. He proposed that 
they should measure up and compare their heights. This was done 
accordingly, and it was found that Mr. Lincoln and Mr. J. Watson 
Ludlam were exactly the same height, namely, six feet and four inches. 
The company remained until quite a late hour, and at length dispersed 
to their homes throughout the village. 

An Interesting Sequel 

The sequel to Major Ludlam's story is very interesting. During 
the following year events succeeded each other with startling rapidity . 
Mr. Lincoln w^as nominated and elected president, and the tremendous 
drama of the Civil war had opened. With many other young men from 
Evanston J. D. Ludlam had joined the army of the Union, and became 
an officer (finally major) in the Eighth Illinois cavalry. This was 
the only Illinois regiment in the eastern army in the early part of the 
war and Mr. Lincoln came out to their encampment near Washington 
to visit them, and made a short speech to "his boys," as he called them. 
He recognized Ludlam at once and asked after Miss Stewart, who had 
furnished the delightful music on the occasion of his visit to Evanston. 

Pog'e Fifteen 



Ft8 9 1914 



and invited him to call at the White House. He made calls several 
times, and after lunch with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln one day, Mr. Lin- 
coln asked him to sing for Mrs. Lincoln the same songs which he sang 
when he visited Mr. White's house in Evanston, a request with which 
he complied. This echo of the Lincoln visit to Evanston, and the 
romance that had its beginning at that time, throws a golden haze of 
sentiment over the event we have been describing, and heightens the 
interest that the episode otherwise possesses for all who take a pride in 
our Evanston annals. 

Mr. Lincoln's visit to Evanston was made when he had reached 
a period in his life when all was fair. He was at the height of his 
fame as the most distinguished political orator of his time, he had be- 
come the rising hope of the new Republican party, and was often men- 
tioned as a possible presidential candidate. The law case, which had 
required his presence in Chicago for the preceding two weeks, had just 
been decided (the day before) in favor of his clients. He was in the 
full maturity of his manhood, and he was probably as near "care free" 
as he had ever been in his life. 

Six weeks afterwards Mr. Lincoln was nominated for the presi- 
dency, and in the following November was elected to that high ofiice. 
He evidently did not forget his Evanston friends and his visit among 
them, for soon after he became president he began to show his appre- 
ciation of the friends he met here. White and Beveridge became gen- 
erals in the Union Army, and, as we have seen, the homely songs and 
good cheer of the house in Evanston, where Mr. Lincoln was so pleas- 
antly entertained, were repeated at the White House in Washington. 



l'a<^c Sixtfiu 



Jlobember 19, X863 



Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers 
brought forth on this continent a new nation, con- 
ceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition 
that all men are created equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great Civil War, test- 
ing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived 
and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on 
a great battlefield of that war. We have come to 
dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting- 
place for those who gave their lives that that nation 
might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that 
we should do this. 

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate — we 
cannot consecrate^ — we cannot hallow — this ground. 
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, 
have consecrated it far above our poor power to add 
or detract. The world will little note or long re- 
member what we say here, but it can never forget 
what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, 
to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which 
they, who fought here, have thus far so nobly ad- 
vanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to 
the great task remaining before us — that from these 
honored dead we take increased devotion to that 
cause for which they gave the last full measure of 
devotion; that we here highly resolve that these 
dead shall have not died in vain; that this nation, 
under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and 
that government of the people, by the people, for 
the people, shall not perish from the earth. 




















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